Ouroboros
by Saerphe
Summary: A new crystal scrambles things up on the Condor. Now Weaverbird has to teach the other Storm Hawks how to be Dragons. Will they ever become humanoid again? Will Finn set the Condor on fire? Read and find out! R&R please, PXA if you squint. R: T for Safe-T
1. Chapter 1: Disaster

**Hello everybody! I'm back with another new fic! Yay!**

**The idea for this one originally came from Nakedmolerat05, although I tweaked it quite a bit. This one's for you, Nm05! **

**This is likely going to be the only chapter you guys'll get this weekend, 'cause I have to go to the Harrisburg Sports Show with my family. We've got a booth for the campground this year, so we've got advertising space. I'm not complaining, since the more campers we have, the better a paycheck I'll get in the summer. XD**

**Enjoy!**

_**Disaster**_

Piper was in her lab with Weaverbird, examining a crystal they'd found on a small uncharted terra. It wasn't like any crystal she had ever seen; it had been carved into the shape of a snake that curled around to bite its own tail. The crystal was a dark green, and a pale green light circled endlessly around inside it.

"Any idea what it is yet?" Piper jumped when the query was issued; she had gotten so absorbed in her work, she hadn't noticed Aerrow leaning against the doorframe.

"No idea," Piper replied with a shrug, "There might be a clue in its shape, but other than that…" Piper trailed off, gazing at the crystal perplexedly. Aerrow watched the light circle around inside it; it had a mesmerizing effect. Aerrow could feel himself involuntarily zoning out as he watched it. He shook himself back to reality. Weaverbird tilted her head at it thoughtfully.

"Its shaped like an Ouroboros." Weaverbird muttered. Aerrow and Piper turned to look at her.

"An Ouroboros," Weaverbird explained, "Is a symbol for many things. The paradox, eternity, chaos, impossibility, etcetera. The snake, or Dragon in some cases, that swallows its tail has been an alchemical figure for centuries." Piper turned her gaze back to the odd crystal.

"I wonder if its effect has something to with alchemy." Piper mused, one hand on her chin. Aerrow raised an eyebrow.

"What, like turning iron into gold, or finding a way to live forever?" Aerrow asked. Piper nodded distractedly. She picked up a small hand torch to work on stabilizing it. There was a bright spark of light, and a loud whooshing noise. Piper shrieked in surprise, and Aerrow shielded his eyes.

When the light faded, Aerrow blinked, trying to get his eyes to refocus. Piper blinked back at him, equally dazed. Aerrow was about to say something, but a tearing pain in his shoulder blades cut him off and he gasped. Considering Piper's equally painful cry, Aerrow guessed she was experiencing the same sensation. He fell to his knees. Aerrow shut his eyes and gritted his teeth against the agony building in his body. It was getting almost unbearable when Weaverbird gave a sharp squawk of surprise, and darkness took him.

* * *

Aerrow gave a small moan and opened his eyes. All he could see was a pair of slit-pupiled blue eyes. Weaverbird moved back a bit as Aerrow sat up.

"What happened?" Aerrow asked groggily. Weaverbird stared at him, her eyes the size of dinner plates. Aerrow looked around for Piper. He yelped in shock to see a midnight blue Dragoness lying where Piper had been sitting only moments before. Aerrow looked down at his hands… Or rather, his paws.

Aerrow looked at Weaverbird for an explanation. Weaverbird wordlessly indicated to the mirror hanging on Piper's wall. Aerrow peered at his reflection in shock.

A ruby red Drake with slit-pupiled green eyes stared back at Aerrow from the mirror. A shard of blue crystal was evident under the plated scales beside his left foreleg. Aerrow placed a paw against his reflection as if to prove to himself that it was real.

"This has to be a dream…" Aerrow muttered sitting back on his haunches. He prodded Piper awake with one paw. "Piper, wake up!"

"What is it Aerrow?" Piper muttered groggily. She stared at the sky knight for a few moments before realizing he wasn't exactly human anymore. Piper gasped in shock, sitting up quickly. She caught sight of her reflection in her mirror and stared at it numbly, her amber eyes wide.

"So that's what that crystal does…" Piper said faintly. Aerrow was speechless. Weaverbird only stared at them. Aerrow was about to say something, when the sound of Finn's high pitched scream interrupted them. The three Dragons rushed out of Piper's lab in the direction of the bridge.

Aerrow and Piper galloped onto the bridge to find that they weren't the only ones who had transformed. A bright yellow Dragon with blue eyes was staring at his reflection in the window, a horrified expression on his face. A stocky red-brown creature with a horn on his nose was picking himself up off the floor. A green Dragon-like creature was staring at his paws.

"I suppose it doesn't just turn humanoids into Dragons." Weaverbird mused, "Junko turned into a Firedrake, and Stork looks similar to a Lung from terra Orienta, but is obviously not the same species." Weaverbird tilted her head at the other creatures.

Stork's new body was long and lithe, and wingless. A pair of slightly spiraling horns curved from his head. A shaggy greenish-black mane ran down the length of his neck and back, and flopped down over his eyes. A shock of green-black hair drifted from the end of his new tail. His ears were rather similar to his original ones, and the silver piercings had somehow managed to remain in place His wide yellow eyes continued to stare blankly at his paws.

"Stork?" Aerrow called, "Are you okay?" Stork returned Aerrow's gaze.

"This is a terrible disaster," Stork finally choked out, "How am I supposed to pilot the Condor without thumbs?" he wiggled his toes as if to prove his point.

Junko's body was similar to a Dragon's except without the plated scales. The horns that curled from his head were rather like a goat's, and one small horn sprouted from the end of his nose. The wings on his back were rather shorter than a Dragon's would be.

"Uh… What happened?" Junko asked, his grey eyes confused. Aerrow shrugged, feeling the new weight of his wings move at the same time as his shoulders. He couldn't help but find it disconcerting.

"We're not really sure either," Piper replied, the new crest on her head rising slightly, "that new crystal we found did this to us."

"You mean we're gonna be stuck like this?!" Finn yelped, his yellow scales paling slightly.

"Only until we find a way to reverse the effects of the crystal." Piper replied. Weaverbird tilted her head at them all.

"I think it's an improvement." She said dryly. Stork moaned with dread.

**Ooh, this is going to get interesting! -laughs- Stay tuned!**


	2. Chapter 2: Learning to Fly

_**Allo readers! :D**_

_**I think it's safe to say that Ouroboros is no longer on hiatus! -dances- I've got a couple more chappies done, but I'm not gonna post 'em 'till later. I was bored and wanted some reviews to read. XD**_

_**But the important thing is that I'm not dead and will be updating this story again soon! I'm gonna wait 'till I've finished this story, and 'The Blind Warrior and the Butcherbird' before I finish writing 'Blue Moon'. I think I've already stated this, but in case I haven't, I'll say it again. :3**_

_**I don't own the Hawks. I wish I did. Moving on. :3  
**_

_**Learning to Fly**_

"We have to find a way to reverse this, and fast!" Piper muttered. Weaverbird snuffed, an eye ridge raised.

"Don't like being a Dragon?" she asked, a hint of humor in her voice.

"It's not that, it's just…" Piper sighed and continued, "How are we supposed to function like this? We need opposable thumbs for most of the stuff we do, and Dragons don't exactly have those." Weaverbird purred, amused.

"Piper's right," Aerrow added, kneading the floor with his paws as Weaverbird often did when she was agitated, "We're not used to these bodies; what if the Cyclonians show up? We don't even know how to fly!" Weaverbird returned his gaze, obviously not worried at all.

"I'll teach you," The Dragoness replied simply, "If it's just a little rogue band of Talons, they'll run away as soon as they see us coming." Aerrow sighed; he would have bit his lip but now that he had fangs, that wouldn't have been the best idea. Finn moaned.

"Man, the ladies just don't go for scaly, y'know? How am I supposed to attract girls like this?" Piper rolled her slit-pupiled eyes at him.

Radarr chose this moment to putter onto the bridge and squawked in surprise at the assortment of creatures gathered there. He was about to run back the way he came when Aerrow called to him.

"Radarr, relax! It's just us!" The sky monkey, who had remained unchanged stared at Aerrow disbelievingly. Radarr looked at the other Storm Hawks assembled on the bridge. They all nodded, affirming that Aerrow was telling the truth. Aerrow rustled his wings in an authoritive way, then stopped, nonplussed. The wings would take some getting used to. He shook it off.

"Alright. Stork, you're going to have to find a way to pilot the Condor without thumbs. Piper, when you have time, work on a way to reverse the effects of that crystal. Weaverbird, you're going to have to teach us how to function as Dragons in the meantime." Aerrow directed his team, nodding at them each in turn. Weaverbird grinned; this was going to get interesting.

* * *

"Okay, there's not much I can teach you about flying," Weaverbird explained to the Dragons assembled before her, "as much of it is purely gut instinct. My parents taught my sister and I how to fly by shoving us out of our den and off a cliff. I'm not planning on using that teaching method with you guys." The Storm Hawks gave a simultaneous sigh of relief. Weaverbird extended her long paddle shaped wings, indicating to the others to do the same. Aerrow couldn't help noticing the differences in their wing shapes.

Piper's wings were long and more bat-like than the others. Finn's wings were more pointed at the second shaft, and Junko's were short and almost rectangular. Aerrow's own wings were similar in shape to Weaverbird's except that they had a longer first shaft. Aerrow snapped his attention back to Weaverbird.

"Just to keep you humanoids straight on this, you don't flap your wings up and down," Weaverbird instructed, "Because Dragons, and Firedrakes," she nodded to Junko, "fly purely on muscle power and have a lot of bulk to haul through the air, so vertical wingbeats don't work so well. If you try it, you'll likely dislocate your wings. Very painful and difficult to fix." Weaverbird rotated her wings in a wide circle; the other Storm Hawks copied her. Piper couldn't help feeling a little silly. She exchanged a sheepish grin with Aerrow.

Weaverbird let them continue with this for a while, pacing among them, correcting them, or standing on the edge of the runway and testing the wind's strength and direction. The other Storm Hawks were starting to get out of breath; Weaverbird could hear them panting behind her.

"Alright, take a break." The Storm Hawks flopped down onto the runway, panting hard. Weaverbird grinned. "Harder than it looks, isn't it?" Junko nodded, trying to catch his breath. Weaverbird waited until they all stopped panting and sat up. Weaverbird reared up onto her haunches and scrutinized them. Aerrow shifted uncomfortably under that blue gaze.

"Now that you've got the hang of wing rotation, I think you can give the actual flying a try." Aerrow and Piper exchanged excited glances. "In order to build up the velocity needed for such large animals to take flight," Weaverbird continued, "You have to jump off of something high. Like a cliff, or in this case, the runway. Remember, I only said I wouldn't _push_ you off." She winked. Finn looked terrified at this. Aerrow grinned at him encouragingly, his ivory fangs poking out slightly from under his lip. Weaverbird grinned devilishly.

"Aerrow, since you're so eager," the Dragoness purred, "You can go first." Aerrow looked at Weaverbird in a way that said, '_me?!_' and she nodded. Aerrow gave a resolved sigh and padded over to the edge of the runway. The red Drake turned to look at Weaverbird, who tossed her head and snorted impatiently. Aerrow gulped and looked down at the clouds below, berating himself for his fear. Heights had never bothered him before; why should they now? _Because there's no skimmer between me and the Wastelands_, Aerrow thought to himself. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, Aerrow gathered the muscle in his hind legs and jumped.

Aerrow shut his eyes against the rushing wind. Instinct kicked in, and he beat his wings furiously, gaining altitude with a few, fairly clumsy strokes. He soared up past the others, whooping with joy. He laughed and circled the Condor a few times. Aerrow banked and descended, tumbling a little ungracefully on the runway. Weaverbird grinned at him.

"Not bad. You just need to work on the landings." Aerrow rolled his eyes, grinning. He'd heard that before, but not from her. Weaverbird turned to the other Storm Hawks. "Who else wants to try?" She called. Piper bravely ventured up to the edge of the runway, her face set. Aerrow couldn't help noticing the way her scales glittered in the sunlight.

He caught his navigator's eye and smiled encouragingly. She returned the smile, curling her toes around the edge of the runway. She leapt off and soared into the air much the same way Aerrow had. Finn was staring nervously over the edge of the runway when Stork's voice came over the P.A. system.

"Guys, there's a group of Cyclonians comin' in from the south. A really _big_ group." Aerrow frowned, his fangs poking out over his lips.

"How big?" he asked, his peridot eyes narrowing.

"Fifty strong." Stork replied. Piper gasped.

"_Fifty?!_ There's no way we can fight that many!" Piper turned to Aerrow for orders. He grimaced.

"Can you get us out of here, Stork?" Aerrow called. Stork made an indecisive noise.

"Maybe, but I'm going to need a little help." Aerrow stepped up to the edge of the runway, his face set. Piper rushed to his side.

"What are you doing, Aerrow?" Piper inquired desperately. Aerrow didn't look away from the sky ahead.

I'm going to distract the Cyclonians, while you guys make your escape." Piper's amber eyes widened.

"Aerrow, that's crazy! There are over fifty Talons! Even you're not that tough-" She was about to say more, but Aerrow had leaped off the runway and soared southward. Piper sighed.

"He'll never make it." Stork muttered, apparently not noticing that the intercom was still on. Piper snuffed irritably.

"Way to stay optimistic Stork." Piper sighed and watched the red speck that was Aerrow disappear into the clouds. She wanted to follow and drag him back to the Condor, but she was needed to find a suitable hiding place for the carrier ship to land.

"Stay safe…" She murmured. The wind captured her words and carried them away.

_**Yayz! :D**_

_**Oh, did anyone catch today's episode of Storm Hawks? The baby Dragons were adorable! I swear, the writers for Storm Hawks must read fanfictions for inspiration, 'cause I swear I recognized certain things from other fics with other eps too. Have any of you noticed that? X3  
**_


	3. Chapter 3: Captured

_**Since I got another chappie finished, I decided to post chapter three! Huzzah! :D**_

_**Nothin' really to say, so On with the story! :3  
**_

_**Captured**_

Weaverbird brushed past Piper to stand at the edge of the runway.

"I'm going after him, he'll need backup. Especially since he hasn't developed the defenses that adult Dragons are equipped with." Piper blinked.

"What do you mean?" Weaverbird glanced at her.

"It takes around twenty-five years for a Dragon's scales to harden fully, and even longer for the ability to breathe fire to develop. Since the ingestion of various crystals is required for this to happen at all, it's not a good idea to go into a fight without additional armor." Piper stared at Weaverbird.

"Why didn't you tell us this sooner?" Piper demanded. Weaverbird grimaced.

"I didn't realize we'd get attacked this soon." Piper sighed exasperatedly. Weaverbird ruffled Piper's crest.

"I'll make sure he comes back." The sapphire Dragoness assured her and took off, winging her way after Aerrow.

* * *

Aerrow dipped and weaved among the Cyclonian skimmers. His wings ached from exhaustion, but he knew he couldn't stop; the Condor couldn't have been far enough away yet.

He swerved, narrowly avoiding a crackling blaster shot. Desperate for a weapon, he opened his mouth and inhaled through the back of his throat as he had often seen Weaverbird do when she breathed fire. He tensed his flanks and exhaled as hard as he could. His second pair of lungs hitched and all that emerged was gagging cough. Aerrow felt the blood drain from his scales. He couldn't breathe fire; how was he supposed to protect himself?

Aerrow saw a Talon aim at him from the corner of his scalene eyes. He tried to maneuver out of the line of fire, but he didn't have the strength. He was bracing himself for the blast that would knock him out of the sky, but it never came. There was a furious shriek and the Talon released a stream of choice curses. Aerrow opened his eyes to find Weaverbird was grappling with the Talon's skimmer. She ripped out the entire engine, leaving the skimmer to fall to the Wastelands and its occupant to float down with only his parachute for company.

"Aerrow, get out of here, now!" Weaverbird ordered, lunging for another skimmer. The rider leaped off as a tongue of blue flame blew past his head.

"I won't leave you!" Aerrow insisted, trying his best to hover in midair. His wing muscles were screaming for a rest. He breathed heavily, making the most of his two pairs of lungs. With a feral roar, Weaverbird ripped the staff from the hands of another Talon.

"_That was an order!_" Weaverbird snarled. Aerrow blinked in surprise; he had never seen Weaverbird fight so ferociously before. Her scales were puffed out, exposing the sharp edges and her crest was raised to its fullest extent. The Dragoness' claws were fully extended, exposing the serrated edges, and her pupils were so dilated from rage that they were just thin black slits in a sea of blue. Weaverbird's fangs were bared, and every sharp, pearly white tooth in her maw was exposed to the fullest. Blue fire flickered at the back of her throat. The normally soft, pulsing light in her crystal had brightened to a steady, near-blinding glow.

Aerrow hated to admit it, but the sight of the infuriated Dragon frightened him slightly. After meeting Weaverbird, he had often wondered why all the old bedtime stories involving Dragons depicted them as bloodthirsty monsters.

Not wanting to incur Weaverbird's wrath even further, Aerrow forced himself to turn back in the direction of the Condor. Unfortunately, he didn't see the green-haired Talon behind him raise his stave. The Talon threw the staff with deadly accuracy. Weaverbird shrieked a warning, but too late; the sharp point of the Firebolt crystal embedded itself in the forearm of Aerrow's left wing, easily penetrating his soft scales. A surge of electricity flooded his body.

Aerrow released a bloodcurdling shriek that his human vocal cords could never produce and plummeted out of the sky. He heard Weaverbird's cry of despair and the angry shouts of the Talons.

Pain blocked out all of his senses; he couldn't hear, couldn't see, he couldn't even think. A red haze was all he knew.

Aerrow fell through a thick layer of cloud; the water inside it was freezing cold. It numbed the wound and helped clear his vision enough to make out a terra not even a tick away. Landing on that terra was Aerrow's only hope for survival. He flipped himself over and forced his protesting wings to open. Aerrow knew he couldn't flap his wings in this condition; he only hoped that gliding would be sufficient to get him there.

Aerrow ploughed hard into the loamy soil of the terra, tumbling muzzle over tail to a violent stop. He tried to stand but his muscles gave and he collapsed to the ground. He wanted to pull the stave from his wing, but he was too exhausted and in too much pain to move. A pitiful whimper escaped his throat.

A loud, panicked shout made Aerrow's head throb uncontrollably. His vision hazed in and out of focus before a wave of agony stemming from his wounded wing made him black out.

* * *

"Is he gonna be okay?"

"I dunno, he seems pretty out of it."

"He's alive; that's something to be thankful for. I thought for sure he was a goner."

Voices penetrated Aerrow's sensitive ears and rattled around in his battered skull. They made his head throb unpleasantly. The sensation of vertigo swept over him and made his stomach churn. He groaned, trying to hold down his breakfast. There was a small gasp. Someone gently placed a paw on his neck and smoothed down his frazzled crest.

"Aerrow?" Piper's voice floated into his ears. Aerrow tried to open his eyes, but everything was blurry and out of focus. The bright sunlight stung them as well. Aerrow slammed both sets of eyelids shut, fighting back another wave of nausea. He shivered and moaned, his toes curling in discomfort. He felt Piper run a paw down his crest again.

"Take it easy, buddy. You took a heck of a tumble there." Aerrow's mind fuzzily puzzled out Finn's voice from the others. Aerrow coughed violently, trying to rid the dust from his lungs. His flanks shuddered and ached. He wanted to curl his tail around his beaten body and drift back out of consciousness, but he had to at least make sure his team was okay.

"Wh… What happened…? How…" He coughed, shuddering slightly, "How l-long have I been out?" Aerrow croaked, nearly choking on the words. Piper turned to Junko and murmured some instructions to him. The Wallop-turned-Firedrake nodded and hustled off. Piper lay down perpendicular to Aerrow and carefully pillowed his throbbing head on her paws.

"You crash landed. There was a Cyclonian staff stuck in your wing so we pulled it out. We managed to stop the worst of the bleeding, but it's still weeping a bit. We took turns watching you overnight. You were out for a while; it's been over a day since you crashed." Aerrow felt Piper's breath on his face as she leaned down close to him, "I sent Junko for some water and a few cloths so we can clean the wound. How are you feeling? Is anything broken?" Aerrow shifted; his entire body protested, but he didn't feel any broken bones.

"I… I don't think so…" His head throbbed violently and he cringed, "might have a concussion though… aagh…" He whimpered slightly and curled in on himself, trying to escape the pain. Piper brushed her snout along the side of his face comfortingly.

"Easy… Shhh… Just rest; don't try anything too strenuous…" Piper murmured softly. Aerrow shivered slightly.

"Cold…" He rasped painfully. He felt Piper shift to lie parallel to him and extend her wing over him like a blanket. The leathery membrane was pleasantly warm and kept the chill air at bay. Aerrow lay still for a moment before finally trying to open his eyes again.

They took a moment to focus, but he could make out Piper and Finn leaning over him, concern in their slit-pupiled eyes. Once his vision cleared he stared around at his surroundings, surveying the damage.

His long, painful skid to a halt was marked by a dark scar in the earth where his body had torn up grass and scattered dark, rich earth across the landscape. A red stain marred the grass at the end of it and ruby scales were scattered everywhere. It was plain that his teammates had dragged him from the crash sight to their current position. Aerrow thought he saw a tooth half-buried in the soil and sure enough, found a space between two of his teeth in the back of his mouth. Aerrow grimaced; that wasn't all he found. He spat out a mouthful of grass, dirt and congealed blood; he must have bitten his tongue when he crashed.

The three Dragons were resting in the shade of a lone oak tree; the Condor wasn't too far away. Even now, Junko was returning with the supplies that Piper had requested. Radarr perched between Junko's curling horns, holding a popcorn bowl full of water. Worry was etched into his furry, blue-grey face. The sky monkey jumped down and scurried over. Setting down the bowl, he rested a tiny hand on the end of Aerrow's snout. Aerrow smiled warmly at him.

"Hey, Radarr. How's it goin'?" Aerrow croaked. Radarr whimpered in a way that said: '_I'd be better if you'd stop getting yourself into trouble._' Aerrow affectionately ruffled the fur on Radarr's head with his snout. "Don't worry about me, buddy. I'll be fine." Radarr growled noncommittally and pushed the bowl of water under his sky knight's muzzle. Aerrow gladly took a long drink. His headache faded to the back of his mind. Aerrow slowly and carefully raised his head to look around.

Piper, Junko, Finn and Radarr were all gathered around him under the tree. From his current vantage point, Aerrow could make out Stork puttering around on the bridge of the Condor. There was just one Dragon missing. Aerrow craned his stiff neck around to search the horizon before turning back to Piper.

"Where's Weaverbird?" Aerrow asked. Piper looked up from the cloth she was soaking in another bowl of hot water. The midnight blue Dragoness grimaced slightly.

"We don't know; we haven't seen hide, nor hair of her since she went after you." Aerrow paled and swallowed weakly. Piper frowned. "What's wrong, Aerrow? What happened?" Aerrow settled his head back down on his paws and shut his eyes against the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. Piper sponged at the wound in his wing muscles and he flinched.

"The Talons must have got her…" Aerrow breathed weakly, "She was distracting them so I could get away. That was the last I saw of her." He let out a soft whimper of despair. Piper put a comforting paw on Aerrow's good shoulder.

"Don't worry, Aerrow. She'll be okay." The midnight Dragoness reassured him, "I'm sure she's been through worse." Aerrow sighed noncommittally and settled back down. Piper finished cleaning the wound. She covered it with an anti-bacterial pad and bound it with medical tape. Aerrow stiffly sat up and tested his wing. It felt much better, although he still wouldn't be able to fly in this condition. He smiled gratefully.

"Thanks, Piper. I owe you one." Piper returned the smile and brushed him with her wing.

"Don't mention it. And don't worry, we'll find her." But despite Piper's assurances, Aerrow felt the shard of Dragon crystal next to his heart burn faintly.

_**There you have it! :D The next chapter is in the works. :3**_


	4. Chapter 4: Hunger

**OMG I'M BACK!!! 8D yay! :D **

**Um, yeah. I'm not dead. I haven't be able to update lately, partly 'cause of exams and partly 'cause my computers is now permanently out of commission. D: But now I'm back to work with a new chappie of Ouroboros yay!**

**I might have chapters of some other stories up maybe today or tomorrow. But, I think y'all have learned by now not to hold your breath... :P**

**Enjoy!**

**I don't own the Hawks. Wish I did. X3**

_**Hunger**_

Later that day Aerrow, Piper and Stork were sitting on the Condor's runway, soaking up the sun's rays and discussing a plan to rescue their missing healer. Junko and Finn wrestled nearby in the grass.

"She's probably halfway to Cyclonia by now." Stork put in. Piper rustled her wings to catch the sun better.

"That's better than _in_ Cyclonia," she reminded Stork firmly, "things could be a lot worse." Aerrow kneaded the runway with his paws.

"How are we supposed to track down the Talons that took her, though?" Aerrow pointed out, "We have no idea which direction they went!" He restlessly scratched behind his ear with his hind paw and stopped, perturbed. He missed having hands.

Finn and Junko trotted up to them. "Dude, when did we last eat? I'm _starving_!" Finn exclaimed. He sat back on his haunches and his stomach let out an audible rumble. Aerrow sagged and pressed a paw to his own empty belly as he realized just how hungry he was as well. He turned to Piper.

"What do Dragons eat, exactly?" Aerrow inquired. Piper's lip twitched, exposing a pearly white fang for a second.

"I think… Raw meat." Aerrow blanched. Stork whimpered and fainted dead away. The thought of all the germs that infested raw meat must have overwhelmed him.

"I'm not so hungry anymore." Junko blurted out. Finn rolled his eyes.

"Pfff, come on! Dragons breathe fire! Surely they'd eat meat cooked!" Finn replied loudly. It was Piper's turn to roll her eyes.

"Except for one problem, Finn," Piper explained, "We can't breathe fire!" Finn froze and stared at her.

"What do you mean we can't breathe fire?!" The yellow Drake asked, his blue eyes wide, "Weaverbird does it all the time!" Piper sighed exasperatedly.

"Weaverbird explained it to me once," Piper replied, "It works like this:

"A Dragon's stomach acts like a big crystal smelter; when they ingest crystals, the residue compounds with their stomach acid and forms into Serpegris. Serpegris is what gives a Dragon the ability to breathe fire, but it takes months, not to mention several pounds worth of crystals, for it to grow.

"The fumes that result from the reaction between the Serpegris and the enzymes in the Dragon's stomach are stored in a special pouch in the Dragon's throat. A Dragon's tongue has barbs that produce sparks when they strike it against the roof of their mouth. This sets the fumes on fire when the Dragon exhales them.

"Of course, every month or so, they have to cough some Serpegris up. If they didn't, the crystals would build up and impact in their digestive system. That can be enough to kill the Dragon.

"We haven't ingested any crystals yet, so we can't have formed any Serpegris. Without it, there's no way we can breathe fire. Besides, I don't think Dragons are picky about whether their food is cooked or not." Piper grimaced, her explanation finished. Finn sagged and sighed irritably.

"So what do we do? I don't think there's enough food in the 'fridge to feed five Dragons and a Sky Monkey." Finn pointed out. Aerrow sighed.

"I guess we'll have to hunt for our food, like real Dragons." The sky knight concluded. Finn grimaced.

"Does that mean we have to eat it raw?" Junko asked. He swallowed uneasily. Piper shook her head.

"We can make a fire to cook on, Junko. We'll just have to use matches." Piper reassured him. At this point, Stork roused himself from his faint.

"Except for one thing:" Stork pointed out dismally, "we need thumbs to grip the matches properly." Piper sighed exasperatedly. She looked at Aerrow.

"Well, I'm out of ideas." Piper admitted. Aerrow shrugged hopelessly.

* * *

"I could really go for a King's Castle burger right now…"

"With cheese!"

"Yeah, definitely!"

"Flamecorn, and Cloud Candy…"

"I think I still had some of my potato salad left in the 'fridge…"

Aerrow shut his eyes and covered his ears with his paws, trying to ignore Finn and Junko's food-based wishes. He had settled himself under the oak tree and was trying to get some sleep, in the hopes that rest would ease his persistent headache. His empty stomach wasn't helping. It complained loudly, rumbling in the pits of his ears. Aerrow growled back and rolled over in an effort to ignore it. He almost rolled right into Piper. She stepped back to avoid getting her paws pinched.

"Aerrow, are you alright? You look a little pale." She cocked her head at him. Aerrow squinted up at her through half-closed eyes. The bright afternoon sun made his temples throb.

"Just a bit of a headache; I'll be fine." Aerrow replied. Piper mmrred and nodded. Aerrow thought for a moment and continued, "Being so hungry isn't helping much." Piper smiled sympathetically. With a slight grunt, Aerrow hefted himself to his paws and trudged towards the woods nearby. Piper trotted briskly after him.

"Where are you going?" Piper called to the ruby Drake. Aerrow looked back at her briefly.

"To find some food. At this point, I don't care if it's raw meat or not." Aerrow replied and continued on his way. Piper watched bemusedly before closing the distance between them. She matched him stride for stride.

"I'll come too; I'm getting sick of hearing Finn and Junko's verbal wish-list." Aerrow chuckled, glad of her company.

* * *

"Oh, Aerrow, we don't really have to eat it, do we?"

"Yes." Aerrow returned his attention to the rabbit he was trying to stalk. It was hard to be stealthy with a large, bulky Dragon body. Piper stared intently at her sky knight, imploring him with her large amber eyes.

"But it's too cute! I couldn't eat a poor, fluffy, helpless, little bunny…" Aerrow sighed exasperatedly and fixed Piper with a withering look. She grinned sheepishly.

"You said the same thing about the fox and the pheasant and the deer too." The red Drake remarked. The rabbit twitched it velvety pink nose at them and hopped away nonchalantly. Aerrow's stomach rumbled loudly as he watched it go. Aerrow shook his head and turned around to try another direction. Piper followed a slight distance behind him.

"What is it with girls and cute things, anyway?" Aerrow asked with a bemused grin. Piper returned the smile and shrugged, her wings rustling softly.

They continued their trek through the forest, trying to keep as quiet as they could. A sparrow flew daringly in front of Aerrow's snout and he snapped at it before he could stop himself. A few of the little bird's feathers got caught between his jaws. The sparrow scolded him as it flew away. Aerrow sneezed and spat out the feathers, much to Piper's amusement.

Aerrow raised his snout to sniff the air and caught a whiff of an acrid scent that burned in his nostrils. He identified it as smoke. The aroma of cooking food was mixed in with crisp smell of fire. Aerrow signaled to Piper to stay silent and carefully made his way forwards. They came to the edge of a clearing and crouched behind a thicket of juniper bushes. The two Dragons peered cautiously into the clearing.

The Raptors were sitting around a campfire, apparently waiting for their dinner to cook. Repton was turning what appeared to be a wild duck on a spit over the fire. By the smell of it, it was nearly ready to eat. Spitz was idly poking at the flames with a stick and Hoerk sat with his head in his hands. Leugey was sitting off to one side, stacking smooth pebbles into little towers.

Aerrow eyed the cooking meat hungrily. He pawed at the ground agitatedly, his stomach growling. Aerrow felt Piper nudge his shoulder and looked at her; she shook her head warningly and flicked her tail. Aerrow took it as an indication that they should head back and warn the others. He gave an inaudible sigh and nodded. They snuck away as stealthily as they could manage.

They were halfway back to where the Condor had landed when the shard of Dragon crystal buried in Aerrow's chest seared violently. He gave a choked gasp and collapsed into a shivering heap. Piper whirled around and hurried to his side. She nudged his cheek with her muzzle.

"Aerrow, are you alright? What happened?" The midnight Dragoness inquired urgently. Aerrow winced and heaved himself to his feet. He swayed slightly, but remained standing.

"I'm fine for now, but I think Weaverbird's getting too far away. We have to find her…" Aerrow staggered forward uneasily. Piper shored herself up against Aerrow's unsteady weight and helped support him. The two Dragons started to make their way forward again, but stopped when an unfortunately familiar voice snagged on their ears.

"Well, well. What have we here?" Repton hissed. A smug smile crossed the Raptor's muzzle.

**Uh-oh... REVIEW!!!! 8D 8D 8D *cough* Purleez? 83**


	5. Chapter 5: Hunting Hawks

_**Hey Peoplez! I'm alive! I've finally updated now that I'm considerably less busy now that I'm off for the summer, so hopefully I'll have more time to update more often. :P Here's hopin'. **_

**_I don't own the Hawks. Wish I did, but that's all it is. Wishful thinkin'. ;P_**

_**Hunting Hawks**_

"Run!" Aerrow shouted. Piper needed no further encouragement. The two Dragons took off into the forest as fast as they could. Repton roared furiously and leaped off in pursuit of the two Storm Hawks. Hoerk, Spitz and Leugey were not far behind.

Piper turned to look back at Aerrow; he was starting to slow, and was obviously favoring his left side. She stopped and waited for him to catch up, but he shook his head.

"Don't wait for me! Go!" Aerrow shouted. He staggered to one side, his flanks heaving.

"But, Aerrow-" Piper started to protest, but Aerrow growled and shook his head.

"That was an order!" Piper frowned and paused. She turned and stomped up to Aerrow, her face set. Piper leaned up against her sky knight and helped support his weight. Aerrow clacked his teeth together in frustration.

"Piper, I-"

"I don't care! I'm not leaving you to get captured again!" Piper snarled. Aerrow recoiled and fell silent, but Piper could see the hint of gratefulness behind the green orbs of Aerrow's eyes.

They staggered forward, tearing through the undergrowth as fast as they could go. Whenever Aerrow started to slow, Piper would nudge him forward with her snout, urging him onward. Every time, he responded with a fresh burst of speed.

Aerrow looked behind him briefly to see Hoerk twirling what appeared to be a chain with weights on each end above his head. The bulky Raptor hurled the weapon at the two Storm Hawks. It just barely fell short of its target. Aerrow glanced behind him to see Hoerk readying another weapon. He tried to increase the pace of his gallop, but the shard of Dragon crystal in his chest seared violently, causing him to slow.

This time, Hoerk's aim was true; the chain looped itself around Aerrow's hind legs, effectively tripping him up. Aerrow fell into a tangled heap, one wing splayed awkwardly beneath him. He pulled at the chain that was wrapped around his paws; it wouldn't budge.

Piper gasped and skidded to a halt. She turned and sprinted back to her sky knight and tried to help untangle the chains. Aerrow craned his neck to look over his shoulder; the Raptors were fast approaching. Aerrow turned back to Piper, who was attempting to bite through the chains.

"Piper, get out of here now!" Aerrow shouted. Piper shook her head and stubbornly continued to tug at the chains that bound Aerrow's paws together. Aerrow lurched forwards and snapped his jaws shut just short of her neck. Piper jumped back, startled.

"I mean it this time, Piper! Go now! Warn the others! I'll be fine." Piper stepped back a pace, shaking her head slightly.

"No… Aerrow-" Aerrow snarled a warning, cutting the midnight blue Dragoness off.

"That was an order, Piper! Go, right now! Before I _make_ you leave!" Aerrow commanded. Piper stepped back again, hurt showing in her amber eyes.

"I don't want to lose you again, Aerrow…" Piper whispered, just loud enough for Aerrow to hear. Aerrow looked behind him; The Raptors were nearly on them now.

"Don't worry, you won't." Aerrow assured her softly. Piper swallowed uneasily and pawed the ground, "I promise, I'll be fine, Piper," Aerrow continued, "And you know I'd never break a promise to a friend. Now go and warn the others." The ruby Drake nodded encouragingly. Piper pranced nervously on the spot for a moment more before turning and bolting into the forest. Aerrow sighed with relief and laid his head down on his paws, resigning himself to whatever the Raptors had planned for him.

A heavy weight landing on Aerrow's back knocked the wind out of him for a few brief moments. He felt Repton's claws dig into his soft scales and winced slightly. The Raptor's gravelly laugh grated on Aerrow's ears.

"Well, well. Take a look at this, boys; a real live Dragon!" Repton chuckled darkly and leaned over Aerrow's head to get a good look at his face. Aerrow growled and his head shot up, jaws open wide. Repton leaped out of the way just seconds before Aerrow's maw snapped shut, fangs still bared. Repton grinned, baring his own sharp incisors, "Feisty little Dragon, aren't you?" Aerrow huffed irritably.

"Not quite, Repton. Once my specialist figures out how to reverse the effects of the Ouroboros crystal, we'll go back to being regular old Storm Hawks." Aerrow grinned snarkily. Repton raised one bony eye ridge.

"Ah, so you're actually a Storm Hawk?" Repton chuckled again, "Master Cyclonis has quite a bounty on all your heads. I could turn you in and collect it for myself. Not to mention that the look on the Dark Ace's face would be priceless." Repton grinned to himself before turning back to his brothers.

"Spitz and Hoerk, follow me; we'll follow the other Storm Hawk and round up the rest of them. Leugey, you start hauling our prize back to the camp." Repton leaped off of Aerrow's back, painfully digging his claws into Aerrow's scales again, and bounded away in the direction that Piper had gone.

Hoerk roughly pushed his way past Leugey, shoving several more lengths of weighted chain into his arms, "You'll be needing these." The muscular Raptor grunted and stalked away after Repton. Leugey sighed and sagged dejectedly.

"Why do I alwayth get left behind?" Leugey complained loudly, "It'th not fair." Not giving Aerrow a chance to move, Leugey slung one of the chains around the Drake's muzzle, binding his jaws shut. Leugey then looped another set of chains around Aerrow's front paws and used the longest to immobilize his wings. After Aerrow was effectively bound and gagged, Leugey proceeded to drag him back towards their camp by his tail. Aerrow squirmed, trying in vain to get free. Aerrow sighed and hoped fervently that Piper was doing better than him.

* * *

Piper burst from the foliage into the clearing where the Condor was parked, startling Junko and Finn. They were still listing all their favorite foods, wistful expressions on their muzzles. They jumped up, their eyes wide with alarm. Piper staggered toward the Condor, gasping for breath. The other Storm Hawks raced over to her.

"What happened? Where's Aerrow?" Finn asked, his voice panicky. Piper paused for a moment to catch her breath. Her head drooped on her long neck until her muzzle touched the grass; it was still stained with blood from Aerrow's crash. She swallowed, as though she were trying to restrain her own distress; she wished that she'd never left Aerrow to the Raptors. She squeezed her eyes shut tight. She felt Finn's wing on her shoulder.

"Piper, what happened?" The yellow Dragon asked again. Piper straightened up and looked back at the forest for a split second, as though she were hoping to see Aerrow emerge after her.

"The… The Raptors!" Piper gasped, "They're here! They caught Aerrow and now they're coming back for the rest of us! I think I lost them, but…" She trailed off; even her voice didn't want to contemplate what could be happening to her leader just now. The other Storm Hawks exchanged alarmed glances.

Stork immediately shot off inside the Condor, "Come on!" The Merb-turned-Dragon shrieked, "We have to get out of here before they get us too!" Junko's eye ridges went up in surprise.

"But Stork, what about Aerrow?" Junko asked, kneading the earth with his broad paws. Stork sighed in resignation.

"We won't be any good to Aerrow if we get captured," Stork pointed out, "If we want to help Aerrow, then we've got to get out of here and formulate a plan!" Finn and Junko looked at Piper for confirmation. She grimaced.

"Stork's right. We won't be able to help Aerrow _or_ Weaverbird if we end up in a prison cell on Bogaton or Cyclonia. Take us out of here, Stork." Piper replied. Stork needed no prompting. Finn and Junko padded sadly back inside the carrier ship.

Piper remained out on the runway, watching as the small terra- and Aerrow- faded from sight.

**_Don't kill me! D8 The next chappie will be up real soon! As in a few minutes. See you then! Don't forget to R&R! ;D_**


	6. Chapter 6: Clipped Wings

_**Back again already! Got nothin' to say except don't forget to review at the end! :D**_

**_Don't own the Hawks. :P_**

_**Clipped Wings**_

By the time they had reached Cyclonia, Aerrow was in terrible shape. His scales were more grey than red, and his normally bright eyes were dull. The Dragon Crystal in his chest was throbbing, but it was nothing compared to the agony that had assailed him for the three days he had spent with the Raptors. They had fed and watered him only enough to survive. He had slept very little. The Raptors had no prison cells on their raggedy old carrier, so he was chained in one spot. His muscles ached from underuse and his snout was bruised; his captors had a penchant for aiming kicks at him as they walked by. Every once in a while they actually hit him.

The Dragon Crystal throbbed constantly, never letting him have any rest. One night it was so bad that he curled in on himself, shaking with pain and fever. He wished his teammates were there; Stork or Piper might have known something that could help, or Junko, Finn and Radarr could have at least offered some comfort and companionship. He held their faces in his mind, as though that could drive the pain away.

He actually managed to get some sleep on the last night before they arrived. Aerrow winced and opened his eyes as one of Repton's masked henchmen announced that they were approaching Cyclonia. Once they had landed, they wasted no time in unhooking Aerrow's chains from the walls and dragging him out onto the runway. Repton grinned evilly at Snipe and the Dark Ace as they dragged Aerrow past them. The Dark Ace simply raised an eyebrow and left one of his cronies to continue working on his skimmer. He followed the Raptors as they hauled Aerrow to Master Cyclonis' throne room.

Aerrow squirmed in a feeble effort to get free but only succeeded in earning a kick to the flank. Once they reached the throne room he was tossed to the floor like a sack of potatoes and left to lie there exhaustedly. Cyclonis turned from her crystal-sorting device to stare impassively at them all. Aerrow tried to growl but all that came out was a slight rasp. It sounded pathetic.

Cyclonis walked around Aerrow and examined him at all angles. She picked up the tip of his tail and inspected the diamond-shaped isocele at the end of it, ran her hands along his scales to test their hardness and felt the structure of his wings with delicate fingertips. She came around to his face and lifted his muzzle in her hands to look at him full on. Aerrow glared at her through dull eyes and managed a growl in the pit of his throat. Cyclonis raised an eyebrow and chuckled softly, carefully laying Aerrow's head back down on his paws.

"An interesting find you have here, Repton," Cyclonis addressed the Raptor after a time, "Judging by the length his horns and the shape and density of the isocele, I would say we have a young male Dragon here. You certainly didn't keep him particularly healthy, I see, but no matter. Once he has recovered some, he will make an excellent subject for experimentation, especially now that we have both a male and a female subject." Aerrow's eyes widened; they had Weaverbird! He hooded his eyes to hide his anger and concern.

Cyclonis returned to sit in her throne and continued languidly, "I suppose I could reward you." She examined the ends of her fingers Repton hastily stepped forward.

"That Dragon's not just a Dragon, master," Repton hissed slightly, "He's a Storm Hawk!" Cyclonis laughed disbelievingly and the Dark Ace blanched slightly from the corner of the room. He immediately stalked over and tried to look in Aerrow's face but he refused to make eye contact.

"That's a pretty hefty claim, Repton," Cyclonis replied cynically, "We have had reports of a Dragon among the Storm Hawks, but they all claim it to be blue. This one is, or rather was, before you decided to neglect its care, clearly red. Besides, we already have the Dragon from the Storm Hawks; the emblem was etched into her crystal; so painfully obvious. I have already rewarded the Talons who brought her to me; leave now before I decide to revoke your own reward." She dismissed them with a flick of her hand. Repton growled, about to protest but obviously thought better of it. Motioning to his brothers to join him, Repton stalked out of the room.

"Take her to the holding cell with the other one. I'm sure our little _pet_ would enjoy some company." Cyclonis ordered the Talons who guarded the door. They saluted and proceeded to drag Aerrow from the throne room, "You go too, Dark Ace. Make sure that our guests are treated properly." The Dark Ace narrowed his ruby eyes, but pressed his fist to his heart and followed the Talons out. Cyclonis turned back to her crystal-sorter and typed in a series of numbers and letters. A mechanical arm withdrew from the holding chamber and dropped a round, blue crystal into Cyclonis' hand. A light pulsed dimly in the center.

"After, all," Cyclonis murmured to the crystal, "We can't have you dying on us, now can we?" Somewhere deep within Cyclonia, a Dragon roared.


End file.
